Kurt W. Rothschild was an Austrian Economist who died in 2010 at the age of 96. In 1938 he was forced to migrate to Glasgow (Scotland) where he was involved in the Keynesian debate from the very beginning. In 1947 he returned to Austria where he worked at the Austrian Institute of Economic Research for two decades before he became Professor of Economics at the University of Linz in 1966. Throughout his live Rothschild's academic endeavour was directed at issues of unemployment and distribution. Hereby he particularly considered the issue of power in economics. Rothschild called the power issue an iceberg problem: "The disregard of power aspects is greatly helped by the fact that concentration on the mechanics of economic and market adjustment within a given framework enables the economist to avoid the detailed occupation with facts which powerful social groups prefer to keep under a cloud of uncertainty. This desire for secrecy is in itself a real and objective difficulty. Nowhere is the analogy of the iceberg more appropriate than in this sphere: only a tiny fraction of the power play becomes visible (and that in a distorted form)."

The volume contains Rothschild's most important articles in scientific journals and edited volumes dealing with questions of power and distribution. It is amazing how topical even his older contributions in this field are for contemporary economics.

the authors

Prof. Dr. Kurt W. Rothschildpassed away on 15 November 2010 at the age of 96. Between 1947 and 1966, he worked for the Austrian Institute for Economic Research (WIFO) in Vienna, and has been a consultant to the organisation since 1966. Between 1966 and 1985, he held the Chair
of Economics at Linz University. [more titles]

a.O. Prof. Wilfried AltzingerVienna University of Economics and Business.[more titles]